250 Hour Recreation Award Achieved

Congratulations to Melanie Rawlings, of Lyon, OR for completing her 250 hours towards her FHANA recreational award. This is a huge accomplishment!

Nero (Norbert 444 x Aan 416) was imported in early 2019 by Cheryl Baird of Friesian Marketplace, followed by another long trip across the country from their facility in South Carolina to his permanent home in Oregon. The first time I saw him in person was when he was unloaded at our barn, & I still feel very fortunate that this sight-unseen purchase worked out as well as it has. He was quite young & green at the time, but took everything in stride & settled in easily to his new life. I admire the achievements others have made in dressage & driving, but as I just ride for fun nowadays, that is all he does as well. Oregon has some great trails, & he was very easy to introduce to these, with a particular enthusiasm for any obstacles involving water, natural or constructed ‘extreme’ trail course features. When it rains nonstop in the winter, he’s content to do arena work day after day, never getting sour & always game to try something new, like an introduction to jumping, trick training, or bridle-less work. As he lives at our barn at home & we are in a fairly remote area, all of the training, feeding/housing, minor veterinary care, farriery, etc. we do ourselves. In light of this, the breed characteristics that make them so pleasant to be around from a variety of perspectives have been invaluable. While it’s true that the first thing he, like most Friesians, gets complimented on are his looks, I think most people who spend enough time around them would agree that they’re even prettier on the inside.